Wearable Washrooms - Shipyards

For well over 100 years, Hufcor - and subsidiary company, Kyissa - have been setting industry benchmarks for operable partitions, glass walls and washroom cubicle systems. They provide high quality cubicle systems for office buildings, factories, restaurants and cafes, shopping centres, sports and entertainment venues, cinemas, schools and universities, hospitals and all kinds of public facilities. For the Australian Submarine Corporation Shipyard project they designed, manufactured, delivered and installed some 165 shower and toilet cubicles and installed them in more than a dozen locations in several buildings across the site.

Duane Burns, Hufcor’s South Australian state sales manager, said that the importance of a quality toilet and shower fit out can often be under-rated. “People quickly form an opinion about your business when visiting your washrooms,” he said. “What does it say about you if your washroom cubicles are flimsy and battered? Our systems make a positive impression with their quality, style and durability.” The high quality designs, fittings and manufacturing methods give a professional finish. More than 20 variations are offered, allowing customised design to suit décor preferences and blend with other aspects of a building’s environment. “When work at the ASC shipyards is in full swing, it’s a three shifts a day, 24 hour operation. The washrooms get a lot of traffic and use from a large number of people,” said Duane, “so it’s also important that the components and structure are strong, stable and durable as well as good looking.”

For the toilet and shower cubicle wall modules, 18mm Laminex Compact Laminate (LCL) board was used. LCL is a made of multiple layers of paper and resin, compressed under high pressure and temperature. It is impervious to water, and highly resistant to acid, solvents and cleaning products, making it ideal for industrial and high use areas. “It is almost indestructible,” said Duane. Its resistance to chemicals like thinners and solvents also mean that graffiti can be removed easily and quickly, with little chance of damage to the LCL surface.

For the ASC project a black LCL board was specified. At the manufacturing, packing, shipping and on-site assembly stages, care had to be taken with cuts, edges and joins to give a blemish-free finish to the high-gloss black surfaces. “We would not normally recommend high gloss black for a heavy use area,” said Duane. “Every mark and blemish shows. Still, I think the finished job at ASC is a great demonstration of the care our team takes with EVERY job to make sure that the designer’s get exactly what they specify.”

The components for all 165 cubicles were manufactured and accurately cut to shape and size at Hufcor’s Tullamarine, Victoria, site, flat packed for delivery to the ASC site where they were assembled. The measure, manufacture, delivery and installation time line and site access time windows were tight.

On-site measuring for each panel had to wait until the plumbers’ first fix and other trades’ work was complete. Only after an accurate on-site measure up could work in the factory start to cut and shape each panel to exact size. Scheduling had to be spot on to fit in with other trades at each location in each building.

Hufcor consultants focus on enhancing the client's spaces, offering up a wealth of creative ideas and visions that inspire. “Our reputation for quality and reliable products, clever designs and an insistence on excellent service is the reason why architects, engineers and contractors routinely insist on Hufcor partitions for their building projects,” said Duane.

For designers, Hufcor and Kyissa CAD drawings and product specifications can be viewed at this website in the
Architect Centre. It takes about 30 seconds to give your contact details and gain log in access.